Adventures in Kauai – The Power of Intention
My journey to Kauai began with honoring my beloved husband’swishes to release his ashes in the ocean inKauai, our favorite place to visit.I also had two additional intentions. One was to sell at least two copies of mybestselling book,What Would Love DoRight Now?A Guide to Living anExtraordinary Life,and the other was to introducemyself to the staff ofthe bookstore in Hanapepe and request they carry my book so that when I returnedin August Icould have a book signing event.
When the plane touched down at 3:30 in the afternoon, it waspouring down rain on Kauai. I contracted with arental car company, which promisedto pick me up at the airport and transport me to their off-site location. Ireceived a text telling me that their shuttle was unavoidably unavailable andto take a taxi at my own expense totheir lot. The taxi driver was nothing likewhat I expected – “Aloha. Welcome to Kauai, the Garden Island ofHawaii†–instead I was greeted by a surly hippie with an attitude similar to that of a NewYork City cab driverwho dropped me off in the pouring rain and promptly left.
Upon arriving on site, the office was closed and there was noattendant on duty to assist me. There was only aseries of text messages thatprovided no recourse for substandard service. My first text, “I can’t find thecar thatyou assigned to me.†The company texted back, “Oh! We have a differentrental car for you.†I finally found thefilthy, little Rent-a-Wreck which hada note on the dash that read, “NO TRUNK ACCESS.†Yikes! This createdanother dilemmasince it was a 2-door car and the driver’s side seat would not collapse forwardto accommodateloading my luggage into the back seat. Even though thepassenger’s side seat did fold forward, this car was sosmall that I found it extremelydifficult to wrestle my 50lb suitcase into the back seat with no one around tohelp.All the while I’m standing in a torrential downpour, becoming more andmore frustrated.
Next, before I could leave the lot, I had to read, sign, andpay cash for the rental. Did I mention it’s taken me anhour so far and it’sstill raining cats and dogs? In order to get out of the rain, I got into thecar and closed thedoor to complete the rental agreement. I decided to turn onthe radio to listen to some Hawaiian music to easemy frustration and get intothe “Aloha spirit.†Guess what? I couldn’t get the radio to work. Damn! When Itriedto get out of the car to put the paperwork in the drop box, somehow the automaticdoor lock on the driver’s sidebecame stuck and wouldn’t allow me to get out. DidI mention it was a very small car? I’m a very petite woman,but nonetheless I wasstuck. With the car keys in hand, I eventually wiggled out from behind thesteering wheel,managed to crawl over the console, and exit the vehicle throughthe passenger’s door. I scurried as quickly as Icould to the drop box and backto the car. Fortunately, I was able to unlock the driver’s door with the keyand getback into the car.
There I sat, alone, soaking wet, frustrated, on the verge oftears, and missing my husband who usually handledissues such as these. I knewthat I had two choices. I could choose to be a victim of my circumstances oracknowledge myself for my perseverance and resourcefulness. I chose to take afew deep breaths and boldlydeclared, “I am in Kauai, the Garden Island of theUniverse…what problems could there possibly be? Then, askingmyself, “Whatwould love do right now?†I set the GPS for the nearest Costco and away I wenton what wasbecoming my grand adventure in paradise.
Thankfully by the time I left Costco, with enough food forthe week, it had stopped raining. As I was strategicallyputting the boxes of groceriesin the car on passenger’s side floor boards and front seat, knowing I wouldhave tocrawl over them to get out of the car at my destination, a gorgeousHawaiian man locked eyes with mine and itwas heavenly! He asked, “W-o-w, wheredid you come from and where are you going?†I responded, “Ha’ena.â€He said,“You won’t get there, the roads are closed, you’ll be put up in a shelter soyou might as well come homewith me. I’ll show you a very good time.†Oh my! Myheart skipped a beat and with no hesitation, I flirtatiouslysaid, “I don’tdoubt that for a moment!†I left with my good judgement in tact not knowing ifhe was giving me aline or being truthful, nevertheless my ego was pumped—hewas young enough to be my son.
With my mind now lost in lust, and with raindrops again dancingon my windshield, I continued on my adventureto reach my vacation rentalaccommodations. After traveling north for about an hour, it became obvious thathewas right as my GPS indicated, “ROADS CLOSED DUE TO FLOODING.†OMG what anadventure, what couldpossibly happen next? I took a deep breath, pulled intothe nearest gas station to confirm that the roads wereindeed closed — they were.
I’m now stranded on a lonely stretch of highway, in therain, in the dark and nowhere to stay. It suddenly dawnedon me to call myhusband’s friend, Gene, someone with whom I was planning to visit during mytrip. I had noidea where on the island he lived, but as luck would have it, hewas home and lived only ten minutes from whereI was at the gas station. He graciouslysaid, “Come on over, I’ll find you somewhere to stay in my house.â€
I was graced with being able to stay with Gene for the wholeweek. A miracle! His property was located betweenAnahola and Kilauea at ahigher elevation that sustained no water damage. Further north however, adisasterwas ensuing. Helicopters were needed to fly in food because the peoplecould not get out or get back home. Thestorm hit right before I arrived andthe island was experiencing the aftermath.
There were other castaways staying at Gene’s place who couldn’tget to work so all of us had a great week! Wehad long enriching conversations,meaningful sharing, and delicious community dinners. There was even aballroomdance instructor there, so we danced the night away. I had a blast. What werethe odds that a randomstorm would render the roads impassable and therefore impossiblefor me to get to my original destination?Destiny!
On Tuesday afternoon, the only afternoon forecast for norain, I went to Moloaa Beach and had a fabulousceremony to release my belovedBernie back to the sea. It was very moving and I felt so free afterwards!
In the meantime, I gave everyone at Gene’s place a copy ofmy book along with a colorful wristband that read,WhatWould Love Do Right Now?to remind them to ask this questionthroughout their day to stay centered in theirhearts. They were all so excitedand so grateful. Since I had brought quite a few wristbands with me, there wereenough to share with some of their friends and so on. The trend continues.
It is my greatest hope that the question,What Would Love Do Right Now?become ahousehold phenomenon thathelps people to live more heart-centered lives. I cannotexpress how thrilled I was to give a woman at Gene’s placetwo of my books andtwo wristbands so she could have them available in her retail gift shop. Andspeaking of gifts,Gene saw the value of my book right away and bought one as awedding gift for his son and new daughter-in-law.Believe it or not, I’mwalking on air!
On the last day of my trip, I drove down to Hanapepe to theFriday night market to visit Connie and Arnie, friends I had made three yearsprior when I visitedKauai Bookstoreand gave them mycontact information sowhen I come back in August I could have my book signingthere. The power of intention—all of them fulfilled andmore!
The bestselling print version of my book is available onAmazon. For those who prefer an eBookversion, you’re inluck. The eBook will be available for only $1.99 starting May17 through May 22 on Kindle. Please take advantage ofthis discounted priceduring these dates to launch my book to #1 on Amazon and to spread the word sowe can livein a world where people live from their hearts! Thank you inadvance.
